Jul 30, 2012 10:15 PM

Just today I saw something in my garden I've never seen before. It was what I first assumed was a tiny wasp but after looking more closely it really did appear to be a really really small bee, maybe 5-8mm long. It was collecting necture, I believe had pollen sacs (unfortunately they are obscured in the photos) and was of a very dark colouring.

I'm aware that it should be a Wasp due to its size and location (Berkshire) but I'm fairly sure it had Pollen sacs and I didn't think Wasps had those. Unfortunately I only had my phone on my so the pictures arent that clear and it was a very tiny insect.

Thanks again to Lewis. Well I got out and spent some time sitting next to the Oregano and finally got some better pictures. Its a lovely little insect, I'd love to get a really solid identification. It does look like its a Cuckoo bee, but I'm not sure its the one Lewis mentioned as the colouring is somewhat off.

These bees certainly have a very similar look and the size is in the right ball park. I'm beginning to wonder if I have two types of these small bees. I photographed this one yesterday which was a few mm bigger than the other ones I've already posted photos of:

Maybe they are the same species but are male and female, or its just natural variation. As I have zero knowledge of insects in general I'm kind of just guessing and relying on the odd webpage for info.

I live right in the centre of Reading, so these little follows have taken to city life quite well

If I was to stick my neck out a bit.... I think I can see some greenish reflexions on the thorax. That would suggest this is one of the Lasioglossum morio group, and in Rdg, that would mean L. morio (most likely), L. smeathmanellum (still pretty likely), or L. leucopus (slightly less likely)

Wow! Thanks. Yes I did notice a slight greenish reflection off some of them, also slightly brass/gold on others. As I mentioned before, I did see some variation in the bees that came into the garden. Some were slightly larger, others seemed to have more of a green hue, while others had a more brass/gold hue. Because they are so small it was really hard to tell if it was just lighting conditions or if they really were subtly different in colour.